CEOs of Fannie, Freddie Blamed for Collapses

(From time to time, starting today, the Icahn Report will be publishing news of interest written by staff.)

The CEOs of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were warned repeatedly by their risk officers about the dangers of investing in subprime mortgages, but pushed ahead anyway into the strategy that ultimately caused their collapse, Rep. Henry Waxman charged at a House Committee on Oversight hearing on Tuesday. The two government-sponsored entities, which buy mortgages from banks and lenders, were seized by the government in September and given access to $200 billion in capital.

“The CEOs of Fannie and Freddie made reckless bets that led to the downfall of these companies,” said Waxman. The strategy, he said, was “tremendously lucrative” for the CEOs, who took home over $30 million between 2003 and 2007. “Their irresponsible decisions are now costing the taxpayers billions of dollars,” Waxman said. –D.H.

Carl Icahn is an American billionaire financier, corporate raider, and private equity investor.

Mr. Icahn is the Chairman of Icahn Enterprises, a diversified holding company engaged in a variety of businesses, including investment management, metals, real estate, and consumer goods. He has been the Chairman of American Railcar Industries since 1994 and a Director of Blockbuster since May 2005. He became Chairman of ImClone Systems in 2006. In January 2008, he became the Chairman of Federal-Mogul.